"Where did the universe come from?" That's a question theists frequently pose in an attempt to try and show the existence of a god. And they often claim that since scientists don't know where the universe came from, then obviously "god musta done it".
But now those pesky scientists may have an answer, and whaddya know, it doesn't include "god".
The universe may have existed forever, according to a new model (//vny!://phys.org/news/2015-02-big-quantum-equation-universe.html) that applies quantum correction terms to complement Einstein's theory of general relativity. The model may also account for dark matter and dark energy, resolving multiple problems at once.
"In addition to not predicting a Big Bang singularity, the new model does not predict a "big crunch" singularity, either (//vny!://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0370269314009381). In general relativity, one possible fate of the universe is that it starts to shrink until it collapses in on itself in a big crunch and becomes an infinitely dense point once again. ...
In cosmological terms, the scientists explain that the quantum corrections can be thought of as a cosmological constant term (without the need for dark energy) and a radiation term.
These terms keep the universe at a finite size, and therefore give it an infinite age. The terms also make predictions that agree closely with current observations of the cosmological constant and density of the universe."
It's far too early to say that this is a definitive answer, but step by step we're getting closer to figuring it out.
But it MUST have started from somthing
Quote from: Gopher on Feb 11 15 07:51But it MUST have started from somthing
That's the whole thing though...it may not have. Our minds only work linearly, so to us it seems natural and logical that there's
always a "before" and "after". We can't really conceive of a timeless event or property, or even a timeless state of existence.
The fact is that it actually makes no sense to talk about what happened
before the Big Bang because (according to current theories) time started with the Big Bang. Without time there's no "before" (and no "after", either). Only when time exists can there be a "before" event or period.
So it looks like the terminology we have may be insufficient to fully describe the state of the universe. It may well have always been in existence, whatever that means.
I don't know (and I don't pretend to know, lol) but the idea of something having always existed doesn't seem all that disturbing to me. It's another imponderable thing that smarter people than me are trying to work out.
It's almost as big a question as why we are here.
Quote from: Gopher on Mar 05 15 08:18
It's almost as big a question as why we are here.
That one is easy: there is no reason. There's no overarching or inherent purpose to the universe or our lives or anything. The only purpose to life or the universe is what we give it, what we imbue it with.
Like Iain Banks wrote, it's just a "a big dumb mechanical universe".
As soon as I stopped pondering the "reason" for existence it all made perfect sense: there is no built-in reason or purpose, only what we give it.
Someone once said to me, 'Why are we here'? I remember saying, 'I don't know and I don't care, I am here and that is good enough for me.' Not very philosophical I know, but it is what it is.
I think we're here to learn and take it back to what we came from.
"I'm here to have fun and help other people. I don't know what the other people are here for."
I know why I am in a certain place at a certain time, i.e this forum, I am here to meet people and chat to them; it was my choice to be here. I had no choice to be on this Earth so don't really know why I am on it, I think. :-\
Well, I was told I was born under a daffodil - so ask them!
That makes a change from a gooseberry bush.
The answer is 42.
If I wasn't here where else would I be? :-\
Waiting to be born....there's a book 'The Bluebird' by Maurice Maeterlinck which has a nice scene of babies waiting to be born and wondering what gifts they will bring down with them.
Quote from: Flatdog on Jun 24 15 02:10
The answer is 42.
Wasn't 42 the world's tallest car park?
42: The answer to life, the universe and everything - History ...
www.independent.co.uk › Life › History
I've always believed the Universe to have existed "forever."
Only the average man has an issue with processing things like 'forever' and 'infinity.' I am an above average man.
Eventually the whole she-bang will collapse into itself once again, and thus it will be recreated once again.
I do disagree with the fact that the "space" utilized is finite, and is determined solely by the fact of matter existing in it... I have never bought into that theory, and never will. The "usable" space stretches out to infinity, IMHO, and I don't believe it corresponds to the fact that matter must be present... This is one thing I disagree upon, and as such I'm not sure "time travel" will ever be a possibility, since that theory isn't one that I believe to be possible, due to my own beliefs of time and space.